THE AUSTRALIAN dollar has plummeted and the share market has opened lower today following a massive Wall Street plunge.

AAPApril 3, 20188:58am

The Australian share market has opened lower after the major Wall Street stock indexes were dragged down by heavy falls in technology shares. Picture: David Moir/AAPSource:AAP

THE Australian share market has opened lower after the major Wall Street stock indexes were dragged down by heavy falls in technology shares.

At 1015 AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S & P/ASX200 index was down 30.3 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 5,729.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 30.9 points, or 0.53 per cent, at 5,838.0 points.

In futures trading, the SPI200 futures contract was down 33 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 5,713 points.

The spot price of gold in Sydney at 0700 AEST was $US1,340.94 per fine ounce, from $US1,328.10 per fine ounce on Thursday.

In the US, Wall Street shares plunged on Monday as investors fled technology stocks amid resurgent trade war worries, with key indexes trading below their 200-day moving averages and the S & P 500 closing below that pivotal technical level for the first time since Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016.

The first trading day of the second quarter began with a broad sell-off concentrated in the technology and consumer discretionary sectors, as losses by Amazon.com, Tesla and Microsoft, among others, took centre stage from retaliatory trade measures China unveiled on Sunday.

“It’s more complicated than just a tech sell-off. What’s hurting everything is that the S & P went through its 200-day moving average,” said Brian Battle, director of trading at Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.

“That attracts momentum sellers and they don’t care what the fundamentals are.”

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 458.92 points, or 1.9 per cent, to 23,644.19 after dipping below its 200-day moving average. The S & P 500 fell 58.99 points, or 2.23 per cent, to 2,581.88 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 193.33 points, or 2.74 per cent, to 6,870.12. Amazon.com was the biggest drag on the S & P 500, down 5.2 per cent, as President Donald Trump continued his twitter attacks on the online retailer.

All 11 major sectors of the S & P 500 closed lower, with the biggest losses seen by the consumer discretionary and technology indexes, which were down 2.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Shares of Tesla Inc ended the day down 5.1 per cent after the company was reported to be making 2,000 Model 3s per week, missing its 2,500 target. The electric automaker’s losses extend last week’s near 14-per cent decline as investigations of a fatal California crash and a Moody’s credit downgrade weighed on the stock.

Health insurer Humana Inc’s shares closed up 4.4 per cent on news it was in talks with Walmart to expand their partnership or possibly be acquired by the retailer. Walmart stock fell 3.8 per cent.